And now it's come out that the couple were completely at odds over starting a family, after WWE star John ruled out having kids.

"Nikki and John truly love each other, but they will never have the same view on a perfect future," a source tells ET.

"Nikki has always dreamt of having a family of her own and John does not want children and that was the main cause of their break up. They are both dedicated to their careers, but Nikki wants more than just that."

Nikki's struggle to get him to commit had previously played out on her and Brie's E! reality show Total Divas, where John told her outright that babies were off the cards.

The pair fought about John's lack of commitment (Image: Getty Images North America)

Nikki was desperate to have children, but John said no (Image: Splash News)

"I do want to be a mum," she told him in 2013, admitting, "I feel like I'd be missing out."

But he refused to budge, telling his then-girlfriend: "I'm going to choose my words carefully. I can't give you that."

But he still shocked the world when he got down on one knee last April during Wrestlemania to propose to his girlfriend in front of millions of screaming viewers.

Old episodes of Total Divas have resurfaced in the wake of their split showing why the couple had such a hard time connecting, after Nikki kept her first marriage a secret from John.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

In an emotional 2014 episode, Nikki sat down with her mum, brother and sister to 'fess up about her secret wedding.

"I got married when I was 20. And got divorced at 23, to my high school sweetheart," she told them in the tearful heart-to-heart. "Basically we got married by Elvis. We drove to Vegas, did it."

Nikki was "ashamed" of her decision and knew it was a mistake even as she walked down the aisle to her groom.

"It's crazy 'cause John doesn't even know and here we talk about marriage and we never bring it up," she admitted.

The moment John proposed (Image: Rex Features)

Nikki has said she doesn't want a 'pity wedding' (Image: Rex Features)

But her brother Garcia was fuming with Nikki, telling her that John was going to be "pissed".

"I'd be pissed for him if you hadn't told him. 'Cause you talk about marriage all the time with him, don't expect it to be easy," he said.

"You don't just run off and get married and not tell your family for 10 years. You do what you got to do and I hope you figure it all out with John."

Garcia ended up being the one who told John about his girlfriend's past, letting it slip at Brie's 2014 wedding.

"I heard you're handling everything awesome. For her to tell you that she's been married before and you had no problem with it, I have to give you kudos man," he told a gob-smacked John.

Nikki covered up her first marriage - and didn't even tell her twin sister (Image: Rex Features)

But when John and Nikki finally talked about it, the previously married John was surprisingly chilled about her first marriage.

"When the focus of most of our problems has to do with that particular topic, maybe I should know that stuff," he told her.

"It's just when you can tell other people and I kind of would like to be on that totem pole somewhere - I don't have to be at the top … I just would like to be on it."